Lucky's Smash Cake Photoshoot

Today Mr. Lucky ChemKnits is 18 months old.  I cannot believe how fast the time has gone on.  I can think of no better time to (finally!) share with you some pictures from his first birthday photoshoot.  This is the culmination of many different knitting projects, baking experiments, practice photoshoots, photography and Photoshop classes.  Let's jump back in time 6 months and see where my head was at.

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Diary of a Mother to a 364 day old.  This is a lot more rambling than some of my other posts, but I'm really reflecting on this past year as I write between steps of cake decorating.  

Tomorrow is his first birthday.  This time a year ago I was trying to focus and keep myself calm because I was already having contractions.  I woke up in the middle of the night (morning) of October 7, 2013 and knew that you wanted to come out.  I just didn't know that it wouldn't happen for another 45 hours!  There are so many emotions swelling through my head as I prepare Lucky's first piece of cake, his smash cake to be eaten on his first birthday.  (There will be cupcakes and another smash at his first party.)

I baked the cake the night before. It took a lot of dye to get the blue that I wanted for his cake.  I wanted a bright blue, not a pastel.  Boy did it take a lot of dye.  I wrapped it in seran wrap so it could completely cool overnight.  There was enough batter to also give us two cupcakes.  Good, the parents deserve to have a treat for surviving the first year of parenthood.  Sometimes we would toast in the evenings for keeping our Little One (LO) alive for another day.  (Celebrate what you can, right?)

Lucky always makes me smile.  He can be a minx, but I love him.  (Thinking of Lady and the Tramp now. This is a good song in my head to have as I'm working on his cake.)

We set up the photoshoot the night before Lucky turned one.  TURNED ONE!  I wanted to make sure we could spend most of his special day playing and having fun (snapping pictures, too) but with minimal set up type effort.  The birthday boy woke up happy and we were ready to go!

We split his photoshoot up in to a few different sections.  First, I took some test shots in his jammies and turned out to get one of my favorite photos of the day (above.)  Then we took a picture of him in a white onesie with a "12 month" sticker to wrap up our picture of the day project.  After a break, we changed Lucky into his hand knit outfit and started snapping pictures with his older brother, Indy.  

We did get some of both boys in their hats, but Lucky was much more interested in playing with his hat than wearing it.

After Lucky's nap, it was finally time for the cake smash.  I took dozen photos of the cake the night before so I wouldn't have to worry about getting too many "before" shots once we put Lucky down.  Keith and I expected that Lucky would go right for the cake, knock it over and devour the sugary treat.  

Well, we were a little right.  Lucky went straight for his vibrant blue cake and planted his hand in the frosting... and then freaked out.  The poor guy did not like the sticky mess on his hand and gave us some crocodile tears.  Keith was worried that I was going to be disappointed (as I'd put so much planning into this smash cake shoot) but I was thrilled.  Of course I wouldn't want my baby to be sad, but he had an honest reaction and we got some GOLDEN pictures out of it.  

We got some spoons and let Lucky eat some of his cake off the the spoons.  Suddenly he discovered what a wonderful treat he had, and the tears stopped and we even got some smiles!  (Even if he refused to actually touch the cake again.)  

Face planting on the spoon of cake.  YUM!

What you don't see in these pictures are the dozens of time Lucky tried to walk off of the backdrop paper and Keith had to "reset" him in position.  I was laying on the floor to get the best angle, and I would NOT have been able to take so many pictures if I were by myself.  

Months before the shoot, I was so worried how this was going to come out.  I was worried that I wasn't going to "get the shot" or that when I put the pictures on the computer the exposure would be way off on all of them.  I only needed to make minor editing adjustments and I couldn't be more thrilled with how this came out.  Thank you for joining me in this journey as I shared all of the things I did to celebrate Lucky's first birthday!  

Practicing for the Perfect First Birthday Photos

I recently posted about Lucky's Under the Sea First Birthday Party.  For months I've been talking about the preparations and different crafts I made to make the day special (admittedly mostly for me and Keith.) The party took place on the weekend after Lucky's birthday.  For his birthday itself, I had a whole cake smash photoshoot planned.  I scoured Pinterest and Etsy for the best backdrop ideas, looking for things I could do myself inside my home.  I even took a photography class (although mainly because I wanted to learn how to use my Canon EOS 70D Digital SLR Camera) and got tips on how to add more light to no natural light, practically a basement aparment.  I purchased three clamp lights from Home Depot (I think they were around $7 each).  I this post, I will share the physical setups I used to achieve different shots.

Now I want to add a disclaimer that I am not a professional photographer.  Not even close.  There are probably better photography tutorials out there, but I thought that it might benefit some people to see how I set up the cake smash photoshoot, and the trials along the way.  

Photoshoot Attempt 1: Balloons

As soon as we moved into our apartment last June, I knew that I wanted to start prepping for this cake smash photoshoot.  We picked up a bunch of balloons in blue and white, comparing colors and metallic versus regular colors.  I pointed the clamp lights directly at my subject.  I slipped a piece of poster board behind the balloons to see what a color backdrop might do.  (I knew that I didn't want to photograph against the white wall.)  

Indy is a trooper, and he always helped me set the scene.  Indy was a valuable asset in these practice shots.  I would check my exposure the white balance on Indy before bringing the baby into the shoot.

When Lucky woke up from his nap, I tried to sit him down and take some shots.  Now he was newly mobile at this point, and I quickly realized how hard it would be to shoot a moving target.  I would especially need to make sure to have some width to my backdrop.  It was a lot easier to shoot Lucky before he was mobile.  I used to be able to just sit him in position and then click away until I got the shot.  Now that he is a toddler (gasp!  he is still my baby!) I have to employ other tactics to get him to stay and look at the camera.  It really helps to have another adult on hand to stand just behind you and the camera.  My husband, Keith, will talk and sing to Lucky, making him smile and look at the camera.  Keith also functions in the "put the baby back in position" category.

Lucky also enjoyed the balloons so it was hard to keep his attention.

In the end, I didn't like the shadows the lights created on the balloons.  I decided to test out some pennants.

Attempt 2: Pennants

A few days later I set the scene with two different sizes of pennants on the wall.  I did learn that I liked the smaller pennants better than the big ones.  

Once again I pointed the lights directly at my subject, but I was still not a fan of all of the shadows I created. I ordered some Pacon Fadeless Art Paper 48" x 50 ft in Light Blue and decided to retry the pennants on a smoother surface to see if that made a difference.

Attempt 3: Paper Backdrop with Pennants

I attached the paper to the wall and floor using painter's tape.  While testing with Indy, I made another decision.  Instead of pointing the clamp lights directly at the subject, I would point them up.  This gave the room more light (allowing me to use a faster shutter speed to capture my toddler) PLUS eliminated the shadows.  

I'm much closer to what I wanted to achieve.  Suddenly I am in a set up that is starting to look more professional.  

 

The light blue paper worked amazing for a background.  I also ordered a roll of black paper to use in a Halloween shoot.  The black was much harder to work with because wrinkles showed up more and it was hard to photograph "true."  In post processing it didn't matter if the blue was slightly off, but you could really tell if something wasn't right with the black.  If you want a black backdrop I would try to find some matte fabric.

Attempt 4:  Lucky's Birthday

The big day was here!  The night before Lucky turned 1, I worked to set up the pennants and backdrop.  There are three pieces of paper on the wall: two overlapping and a third in the center which ended up being extraneous.  I was hoping to minimize the amount of seams that you could see, but I ended up not removing any in post processing.  (With the black paper you really see where the paper overlaps.)   The pennants were created out of scrapbook paper hole punched and threaded onto some ribbon.

Lucky was walking by this point, so I needed to make sure that we would have plenty of light.  I used all three clamp lights, a tall floor lamp and the overhead chandelier.  

Another benefit of the paper backdrop - when Lucky smashed his cake it would be really easy to clean up!  We made sure to break up the picture taking so we could also do some fun things like play in the park and nap.  We did a few sessions of Lucky in different outfits in front of the backdrop before any cake was served.  

This shoot would NOT have been possible without Keith.  I really needed another adult to keep putting Lucky back in the center of the room while I lay on the floor shooting as many frames as I could.  I think I took almost 1000 pictures this day!  Remember, you can always delete but you can't go back in time and take another shot.  

Indy was, of course, a trooper through the whole thing.  Next week I'll share with you more pictures from his photoshoot.

A Whale of a First Birthday Party

Tshirt from lilthreadzclothing on Etsy

At long last, I'm finally going to share Lucky's Under the Sea Birthday Party with you!  I started planning Lucky's first birthday party almost a year ago, when he was only 6 months old!  I quickly settled on an under the sea theme and started running with different ideas to make a pinterest worthy event.  I know that Lucky won't remember this event, but a first birthday party is as much for the parents as it is for the youngling, so I wanted to have a lot of fun planning and decorating for this party.

Planning for this event required many non-fiber craft projects.  I've blogged about many of these crafts already, but now you will finally see the finished product!  Hopefully you will get some inspiration for your under the sea party.  There is a tiny amount of crochet and pompom making in here, but I challenged myself to leave my comfort zone to create decorations myself.

How was I able to accomplish so much?  I started making decorations MONTHS before the party.  I made dozens of origami fish without knowing quite what I was going to do with them.  You can find some of these decoration items on etsy if you don't have a lot of time to spare, but if you are going to DIY then I recommend starting small so you don't feel overwhelmed the week before the party.  If your kids are older, they can even help out!

Now let's take you through all of the little projects I did to create a magical under the sea first birthday party for my baby, Lucky.

To decorate the humans, I added some flair to paper party hats with little crochet whales and hand made pompoms.  To some of the other hats I cut out shapes from the decals I used to decorate Lucky's Under the Sea Nursery.  I even found some whale party hats that matched the cups and plates!  I added some extra pompoms to the top of some of these hats. 

You entered the party with a view of a HUGE tissue paper pompom.   I then created a "waterfall" of crepe paper to bring you into the room and under the sea.  The tissue paper is still hanging in the door way almost 6 months later!  (Hey, I didn't want to throw it out!  It looks so cool!)

The origami fish I created made many appearances in the party. I had a whole rainbow fish wall above the food table and an aquarium cascade from the chandelier in the dining room.  The fish are swimming through some crepe paper sea grass.

For this chandelier I attached the origami fish and crabs to some curling ribbon with double sided tape. I curled the other ends to give a feeling of sea weed.  

Keith was the most excited about creating a net of bubbles.  We used thumb tacks to attach the black fish net to the ceiling and then filled it with balloons in different shades of blue and white.  This set up was stronger than it looks and stayed up with no problem for weeks.  The only rush to take it down was to make sure we didn't lose any pins with a little toddler running around!

I took a picture of Lucky every day for his first year of life.  This photo project included monthly pictures in a white onesie with a sticker I purchased from digitaldoodlebug on Etsy.  While I am no longer taking a picture of Lucky every single day, I am still taking monthly pictures of him with stickers for months 13-24.  Swimming fish created from crepe paper rosettes + a crepe paper triangle held up these pictures of Lucky growing.  

Lucky's chevron fish birthday banner was also held up with crepe paper rosette fish.  I designed and printed the banner myself in the blue and lime green color scheme that would carry through a lot of the party.  In the linked blog post I've shared a PDF of the banner so you can use the fishy font to create your own birthday banner (for free!)

No party is complete without balloons!  We tied helium filled lime green and sky blue balloons around the party.  There are coordinating triangle pennants lining the fire place and the food table that are left over from Lucky's smash cake photoshoot.

I had so many paper plates for a party of 15 people that I turned some plates into fish using scraps of the scrapbook paper I had used in the pennants.

As the last big decor item, I found the Banzai Playful Puffer Fish Spray Pool on Amazon and couldn't help myself. I knew that this pool would be the perfect place to put presents... AND that Lucky would have a lot of fun playing in the fish. When the summer comes we can use it as an actual pool, but for now it was the perfect scale to bring some whimsy to the party.

Now that I've taken you through the decorations of the party, it is time to start talking about the food.  Ever item we served was on theme.  I tried REALLY HARD to not go over board with the quantity while still having fun with different pun filled foods.  

I covered the table in Pacon Fadeless Art Paper, 48" x 50' roll, Lite Blue that I had left over from Lucky's smash cask photoshoot. I chose royal blue and lime green as the themed colors for the party, based in part of the Preppy Ocean Boys's First Birthday Plates and Napkins. I added some plain blue and lime green plates to the mix to have some cheaper options if we needed more paper goods.  I created a second smash cake in the party colors.  This also let me re-use the cake stand  that I made!

No party is complete without seven seas seven layer taco dip.  This melty concoction had the following layers and was baked at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes just before party time:

1. refried beans mixed with taco seasoning
2. cream cheese/sour cream
3. avocado
4. salsa
5. green onions
6. olives
7. cheese

For a healthier treat, we offered "Sea Cucumber and Friends" to dip in a shellfish-free "Crab Dip".

We served goldfish crackers (cheddar cheese and pretzel) in beach pails with shovels.  

There are no pigs in the blanket under the sea, but we did find some sea snails!  

Keith loves puns, and when he discovered that he could create Peanut Butter and Jellyfish sandwiches for the party he created a little display.  All it took were a Marine Life Cookie Cutter Set. I considered making other cookies but as you are about to sea (ha!) we had plenty of tasty desserts already.

Using clear plastic cups, blue raspberry jello and some cut up pieces of fruit (strawberries and apple), I whipped up some Aquarium Jello.  

Finally we had some candy coated chow mein noodles "crab" cookies and chocolate cupcakes decorated to be fish and turtles.  I took advantage of some awesome silicone cup cake wrappers my SIL gave me at Lucky's baby shower and then used M&M's to gives some scales to the other fish.  

The sunken treasure "Pirate's Booty" rounded out the yummy treats.  

All together this created a delightful spread.  

And boy was my little Lucky boy happy at his party!

Keith and I were pretty happy, too!

Thank you for experiencing Lucky's first birthday party with me.  I had so much fun finding projects and I was so excited to share them with you on the blog.  I hope that I've given you some inspiration for a kid's under the sea birthday party.  Please let me know if you have any questions about how I made or where I purchased anything.  I tried to share all of the links I could but I might have missed something.

I already have some ideas for Lucky's second birthday party, but it is possible that he will have more input on it.  Do you have any suggestions for themes?

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I haven't yet posted about some of the fabulous projects I did for Lucky's birthday party.  I'll come back and link to them in this post once they're published.  Stay tuned and come back for some great under the sea birthday party ideas!